‘True Detective’ Will Return for a Third Season on HBO

After an extended hiatus, HBO announced late Thursday that it is bringing back its anthology series “True Detective” for a third season.

Only a few details are known but the Oscar winner Mahershala Ali will star in the series, playing a state detective in Northwest Arkansas as a crime plays out in the Ozarks.

“True Detective” creator Nic Pizzolatto is once again writing nearly all of the show — David Milch, the creator of the HBO series “Deadwood,” “John From Cincinnati” and “Luck,” co-wrote one episode — and he will also direct several episodes. Jeremy Saulnier (“Blue Ruin”) will direct the remainder of the series.

“True Detective” became a cautionary tale in the TV industry about how easy it is to lose a hot hand. After debuting in 2014 to great reviews and big ratings (and Emmy nominations for Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson), the show fell off a creative cliff in its second season in 2015. The series became a punch line around Hollywood, and few thought it would ever come back.

But over the last year, HBO’s programming president Casey Bloys repeatedly said the series was far from dead, and HBO confirmed its faith in Mr. Pizzolatto on Thursday.

“Nic has written truly remarkable scripts,” Mr. Bloys said in a statement. “With his ambitious vision and Mahershala Ali and Jeremy Saulnier aboard, we are excited to embark on the next installment of ‘True Detective.’”

Mr. Pizzolatto added in his own statement, “I’m tremendously thrilled to be working with artists at the level of Mahershala and Jeremy. I hope the material can do justice to their talents, and we’re all very excited to tell this story.”